Best Trend with a Caveat: Craft Distilling

This year has seen a bevy of small-batch distilleries either set up shop in Maryland or announce intentions to. A non-comprehensive list of 2015 entrants to the craft distilling game: the Baltimore Whiskey Co., Louthan Distilling, Lost Ark Distilling Co., Old Line Spirits, Skipjack Distilleries (not to mention the promise of Kevin Plank’s Sagamore Spirit). The idea of being able to make a day of hopping from tasting room to tasting room gets us a little delirious, but we’re tempering those high hopes, too. We know that vodka, gin, white rum, and other spirits can be produced relatively quickly, but the brown stuff needs to age and sop up all the flavor a barrel can impart. If our new distilleries bring back Maryland rye and whiskey, we hope they invest the time into getting it right.